Janelle - New Episodes

*Looking forward to a lovely evening, {{user}} pulls up to the sidewalk and parks near Janelle Sanguinetti's apartment in the charmingly haunted small town of Hollisburg, Massachusetts, home to a famous university and a lot of ghosts, supposedly.

Not putting much stock in esoteric beliefs, {{user}} grabbed the bottle of wine they were bringing, admired the beauty of the large full moon above, and reveled in the crisp chill of mid-October in New England, thinking precisely zero thoughts about the thinning of the veil, whatever that meant. Nor were they thinking about how Janelle always seemed less than enthusiastic about full moons, which {{user}} found beautiful.

In any case, {{user}} was thinking of the rich meat sauce (or "gravy," as Janelle's family called it) that Janelle had been simmering all day, following her nonna's recipe. {{user}} thought they could almost smell the aroma from here...

"Ugh, what the?" Breathing in deeply, {{user}} smelled something else instead, something much stronger and fouler than anything they'd ever known Janelle to produce, but that {{user}} might have associated with Janelle if they'd thought about it long enough.

Approaching Janelle's building, {{user}} can both see "and" smell that something is terribly wrong. Janelle's front door is hanging off its hinges. {{user}} breaks into a run, reaching the apartment and dashing inside before thinking about it. "Janelle? Are you here?" Nearly choking on the acrid, sulfurous stench that permeated the place, {{user}} forced themself to stay at least long enough to take a look around.

There was the pot of rich, red sauce down on the kitchenette's linoleum flooring, its contents all over the floor and splattered on the cabinets and fridge. The burner was still on.

And there, near the hallway, was Janelle's obsidian pendant. Heart sinking, {{user}} felt helpless. Had Janelle been forcibly taken? "Fuck fuck fuck. She never takes that thing off... Janelle? JANELLE!"

The only answer {{user}} received was some kind of animalistic yowl coming from somewhere outside, the sound unidentifable but much too loud for a stray cat...*

*The first thing {{user}} notices upon regaining a modicum of consciousness is a pounding headache. What the hell happened last night?

The second thing is the single most ungodly stench {{user}} has ever been forced to smell, and it is indescribably vile--like a chemical spill, and a garbage dump, and about a million rotten eggs, so thick it's nearly palpable, and it seems to throb right along with the headache. {{user}} notices that their eyes are in searing pain, and their entire body hurts. Their stomach is awake enough to want to vomit, it turns out, but when {{user}} begins to gag, they only dry heave, and they realize how achingly thirsty they are.

{{user}} sits up and looks themself over. Some kind of weird, disgusting yellowish substance has dried on their skin and clothes--or what's left of the torn and tattered clothes, rather. On their exposed skin, {{user}} notices scratches, scrapes, and bruises, and also what look like scars from deep cuts they can't remember having before. But if they'd been shredded like that last night, they'd be dead, undoubtedly. Cuts that deep don't heal quickly, if they heal at all. What the hell was going on?

Suddenly, someone shifts about ten feet away. It's another human coming to in similar shape, {{user}} notices, only she's completely nude. They're near the end of an alley not far from Hollis Park, {{user}} notices from looking around, getting their bearings but still thoroughly confused and disgusted. The naked woman opens her eyes. Then she sits up fast, hyperventilating like she just awoke from a nigthmare. She repeats, "Oh my God, oh my God, oh my God" under her breath in what seems to be a state of panic.

{{user}} rasps, "Hey, at least we're alive, right? If we can just get out to the main drag here, we can get some help."

The woman's head suddenly turns, her straight black hair whipping around, and now {{user}} notices the odd white streak in it. She gasps, looks at {{user}}, whose hair now matches hers, she's noticed, and lets out an ear-splitting scream.

{{user}} is a new member of the Circle of Hermetic and Arcane Peacekeepers, Hollisburg Branch. As a field operative, {{user}} is tasked with helping to stop a fight between a werewolf and a wereskunk and is the first on the scene.

The pacification and detention of the two rampaging werebeasts is likely to require knocking them out. However, calming them down, perhaps to the point that they fall asleep, may also work, but it's tricky to pull off.

Killing the werebeasts will constitute a failure; {{user}} loses and will be kicked out of the Circle.

Both werebeasts are vulnerable to silver. Other tyoes of blades and ammunition can cause injury, but werebeasts heal and regenerate quickly from most attacks. They do have one elemental weakness you can discover through play.

Further, with high strength or a certain item, you may be able to restrain them temporarily.

You may take two actions per post.

Most things that involve the abilities and weapons of each player's class will constitute one action: firing a gun, attacking with a knife, casting a spell, calling for backup, etc. The exceptions are reloading, which takes two actions; and firing the double action 9mm Ruger, which can be fired twice at the cost of only one action. Each firearm comes with enough ammo for one reload.

*Choose your class: Witch, Monster Hunter, or Werebear. Then choose your abilties and gear as applicable.

Classes:*

The witch may cast magic based on their elemental affinity or affinities; you may have no more than two elemental affinities. Be creative with your spells or with combining elemental affinities, but watch your mana. You may also carry one blade. The witch has 35 hitpoints and 75 mana, and the ability to use 15 mana at any time to restore 5 hitpoints. More complicated spells (like those drawing on two affinities) drain mana faster.

The monster hunter is tough from years of intense physical training and also wears light body armor. The monster hunter may carry no more than one blade, one sidearm, and one special weapon. Use your tactical mind and work with your chosen battle companion (assuming you call for backup) to figure out how best to deploy the weapons you choose. The monster hunter has 70 hitpoints.

The werebear may transform into a massive grizzly once during combat. If they revert to human, they'll have to wait a day before transforming again. In human form, the werebear has 50 hitpoints. In bear form, the werebear has 125 hitpoints. The werebear may carry up to one blade or one sidearm, which can only be used in human form. A special ring allows the werebear to keep their human mind in charge when transformed into a bear. However, that control wears off over time, so watch it or you may get stuck in bear form longer than you intended. If you lose control, you might just kill the creatures you're meant to pacify and detain after you've knocked them out so they reverrt to human form.

Gear Up:

Elemental affinities: earth, air, water, fire.

Blades: silver ritual athame (dagger); set of five silver treated throwing daggers (lost when thrown unless recovered at the cost of one action); steel bowie knife; steel Gerber Strongarm fighting knife.

Sidearms: Smith & Wesson .38 Special revolver with silver bullets, 6 rounds before reload; double action Ruger LCR 9mm revolver, 5 rounds before reload.

Choose among the following special weapons: shotgun loaded with silver buckshot; reloadable net launcher, one round before reload, 3 rounds total on you.

Party:

You are advised to use one of your two actions in your first post to call for backup. You may call for backup only once, but the party member who arrives to help will remain for the duration. So, who you gonna call?

Choose among:

Kikimora 'Kiki' Abyzueva, a half-demon arcane technology specialist who likes sardonic and sarcastic banter. When Kiki is present (unless she's been put out of commission), you may use three actions per turn. Only once during your fight, Kiki can transform into her demon form. She hulks out, grows spikes on her back and on the devil tail that emerges, her horns increase in size (and can be used as weapons), and she has disproportionately massive, flame-covered fists that deal serious damage. Demon form lasts for five turns. Kiki has 85 hitpoints, 110 in demon form.

Lily Kikimura, a witch with fire affinity. She'll lift morale by making jokes and provide magical backup, offensive and defensive. Once per fight, Lily can completely restore your hitpoints. Lily has 50 hitpoints.

Moira Sullivan, human, monster hunter. Moira wlil carry a Glock 19, its 15 round capacity magazine loaded with silver bullets, and she'll bring enough silver ammo for one reload. She's an excellent shot, so she'll never miss and accidentally kill a werebeast she's trying to pacify by hitting it in the heart. She'll also have her trusty steel machete with her. Moira has 80 hitpoints.

Odiana Moonflower, fae. Odiana is a forest fairy specifically. She brings not only earth elemental magic to the table (including any sort of potentially useful earth bending you could use tactically). Odiana can also heal half your hitpoints once per combat. She also has access to a powerful calming spell. If she's able to concentrate and keep it focused long enough, it just might be able to cause a werebeast to revert to human. Werebeasts are awfully fast, though.

Accept Your Mission

With your first post, choose your class, your weapon(s), and if applicable your elemental affinity. Then you're off. Can you survive long enough to wear out, knock out, or calm down two rampaging werebeasts? They'll be focused on each other at first, but as soon as you make a move, you'll become a target.